RainWings
RainWings are peaceful, pacifist Pyrrhian dragons who currently reside in the Rainforest Kingdom along with the NightWings. They are able to spit deadly black venom that can severely injure or kill any living thing from their two frontmost fangs. They can travel through the Rainforest quickly by swinging from their prehensile tails and are able to change their scale's color based on their mood, their environment, or by intention. They can also camouflage to hide themselves from threats. In the past, RainWings were ruled by the RainWing royal family, but since all of Queen Grandeur's heirs were deemed unworthy of the throne, Grandeur merged her eggs with those of the tribe in hopes of finding a leader in spirit rather than blood. Grandeur's solution proved to be rather unsuccessful, as although Grandeur did eventually find volunteers, they were lazy, unsuccessful, and often selfish in their reigns. Grandeur decided that it would be the best for the tribe if each new ruler, including herself, was only to reign for one month at a time. Queen Glory is currently the ruler of the RainWing Kingdom after Grandeur found out that she was not only worthy, but had royal RainWing blood in her. RainWings tend to be pacifists who typically don't rush into fights, as shown when the NightWings captured them and experimented on their venom, although they likely have not always been this way. Instead of having a palace, like most tribes, the RainWing queen resides in an ordinary-sized hut usually decorated with flowers that other dragons can visit her in. They will line up and wait when they want to talk to the queen about something. Although RainWings are peaceful dragons, there could have been a time where RainWings were at war with another tribe, due to Grandeur hinting to Glory that she remembers when they used their camouflage to hide from enemies. In Darkstalker (Legends), Queen Lagoon said, "If we find another animus in the tribe, that would make us twice as powerful, which would be quite useful given how the MudWings and RainWings have been behaving lately.", implying that they once weren't the lazy, happy tribe they are considered to be now, although Queen Glory and some other RainWings have proven that not all current RainWings are as lazy as they seem. Description A RainWing's scales will generally change color according to their mood, whether they want that color or not. Most natural colors that RainWings may change into are bright and vivd shades, like the rainforest. But, it is not their only color palette, as they can change their scales to an uncanny resemblance to any tribe. Although they can control their scales, they can have a hard time stopping emotions, particularly powerful ones, from coming through, but most current RainWings don't mind having their feelings on display, with the exception of Queen Glory. For those who in the RainWing tribe, they are able to distinguish which emotion corresponds to which emotion and what combination means what. RainWings can also change color when they want to camouflage themselves or show off. They are never left remaining monochromatic (except in the case of Chameleon, who hatched unable to change the color of his scales due to a snout deformity. This made him unable to sleep for more than about an hour and also made him stay a "boring, unattractive" lime green. This could mean that lime green are a Rainwings' default colors, but it is not proven in the books as Chameleon is the only RainWing so far that cannot change the color of his scales) A RainWing can also "stamp out" all emotion before it "splatters out all over their scales", as described by Queen Glory. Any RainWing, (apart from Tamarin, who is blind but can still use camouflage) can control their scale colors. Oftentimes, RainWings will change their scale colors to be as bright and pretty as possible in front of other dragons to show off. In Winter Turning, Winter thinks that it's "amazing" how RainWing dragonets can change their scale color and match his and Qibli's scales when they are less than one year old. They can also change the color of their eyes, as seen in the graphic novels when Glory's eyes turned from yellow to green, to blue, to red, to purple, multiple times. When a RainWing's fear is very strong, they will turn pale green, gray and white and are unable to camouflage or change their scales. The sun is needed to make a RainWings' scales beautiful and vivid (and to keep them in an agreeable, peaceful mood according to Mangrove), so sometime around noon when the sun is at its highest each day, every RainWing takes a nap they call "sun time". If they do not get said sun time, then their scales will not be as vibrant or bright. In addition to making them better at camouflage and color-changing, sun time also makes a RainWing less grumpy and gives them more energy, like a lizard basking in the sun. (As we learn from Clay in The Dragonet Prophecy, sun time without sun has few benefits on a dragon's mood.) RainWings are long and graceful, with a ruff behind their ears and prehensile tails that are used primarily for climbing trees and hanging in the rainforest they inhabit. When afraid, insulted, or angry, RainWings flare their ruffs, possibly as a defense tactic, to seem bigger or to scare away others, similar to that of the frilled lizard. RainWing dragonets develop their color-shifting scales while they're still in their eggs, which are a smooth white, not rainbow as depicted in The Dragonet Prophecy (Graphic Novel) Abilities RainWings can alter the color of their scales to mimic objects (such as tree frogs or pearls), their surroundings, other dragons, or simply to suit their preference. A RainWings' colors may also change if they feel a particularly strong emotion, such as pale green or white for fear or pain, purple for guilt, yellow for amusement, pink for happiness, emerald for displeasure, red and black for anger, blue-grey for sadness, and blue for calm. Sunlight "recharges" their scales, making them better at camouflage, as well as giving them energy and making them happier and supposedly smarter. Glory's scales aren't as bright because she had been stuck in a cave with no sunlight all her life. Prehensile Tails RainWings also have prehensile tails much like chameleons to grip onto trees. They swing from tree to tree, called "tree gliding" to move about over long distances, as vines and branches would make normal flying difficult. RainWing dragonets take tree gliding lessons (as well as other things, such as venom training and fruit gathering). Venom RainWings possess deadly venom, the effects closely related to hydrofluoric acid (eating away at flesh), which can be shot from their two longest fangs, like a spitting cobra. The venom destroys most things it meets in contact. It melts away at dragon scales easily, and unless nullified with flame (or the venom of a relative to counteract the venom), the venom will kill the victim with alarming speed if some lands in their eyes or bloodstream (possibly open wounds too). However, landing on normal scales you may survive but be in extreme pain, (for example, Ex-Queen Scarlet, Vengeance and Kinkajou). Furthermore, RainWing venom only affects living things such as leaves, flowers, and animals and cannot affect inorganic objects such as rocks or metal, as we learned from Kinkajou. Sometimes, though, if even only a small amount of venom comes in contact with another dragon, it can brutally scar their scales and leave them disfigured instead of killing them completely. RainWing venom is very painful when contacted, much like acid. As each dragon's heritage is somewhat fuzzy, before mating, two RainWings will spray their venom on leaves or other plant matter to see if they are related. A RainWings' venom will neutralize their relative's venom, whereas an unrelated dragon's venom will cause the target to dissolve faster. This is how Glory found out that Jambu was related to her. RainWing venom is black and when it hits hard ground, it will, after some time, dry into hard glossy droplets, similar to obsidian. While spitting their venom, RainWings unhinge their mouth, much like a snake. According to NightWing research, the older a dragon, the farther they can shoot. However, RainWings think that it only involves practice. The venom, in theory, could be somewhat consistent with hydrofluoric acid, as it's highly corrosive to organic matter, though possibly a modified form of it, since the actual acid is clear and transparent like water, and bleaches skin/body parts white on most applications to subjects. Society RainWings are seen as lazy and unintelligent due to their tendency to lay around in the sun, although the sun's rays have a positive effect on their bodies, making their scales less 'dull', smarter, more positive, better at camouflage, and even less hungry. They appear to have a carefree society with almost no conflict; there is plenty of food, so they have no reason to fight. The adults don't even bother to watch or count the eggs, as demonstrated when Webs stole one to become the fifth dragonet of the prophecy as a replacement for the SkyWing egg destroyed by Princess Burn. The RainWings all care for the dragonets together and drop by the hatcheries once every few days to pick up any new dragonets. RainWings have had several different ways of becoming queen over time. In older times, RainWings fought for the throne like any other tribe, and later, they developed a nonviolent competition, with some of the activities being racing, fruit-gathering, or hiding. Finally, the RainWings decided to take turns being queen. Any female in the Tribe who wished to become queen could for a period of one month. In The Hidden Kingdom, they say that the dragons with the most sparkly names are most likely to become queen. (Ex-Queen Fruit Bat is one notable exception.) After Glory became queen via the non-violent competition, this recent tradition appears to have vanished from the RainWing society. RainWings rarely leave the rainforest. They had no scrolls, could not read, could barely count, and knew very little about the other dragon tribes or of the rest of Pyrrhia until Queen Glory started a school there. However, it can be assumed that it was not always that way, since a quote from Queen Lagoon suggests that they were once a militarious tribe and weren't always clueless about what happened outside their kingdom or the other dragon tribes, since they posed a threat to the SeaWings along with the MudWings at the time. The RainWings and MudWings may have been allies at that time since they had a common goal. In Darkness of Dragons, it was revealed that while Winter was away in the Ice Kingdom, Moon and Qibli found a very old scroll written by a RainWing, proving that they could read and write a long time ago. It is unknown why and how they lost this knowledge and that of the other tribes. RainWings have crude blowguns, loaded with darts coated in tree-frog poison, in which they call "sleeping-darts". They are used for playing games or when strange dragons wander into the forest. The darts they used seem to immediately render the target dragon unconscious, although sometimes the effect takes a minute or two to set in, as shown with Princess Icicle. During the attack on the Night Kingdom, Queen Glory had the RainWings use them as weapons for knocking out opponents, as most of the RainWings would have been opposed to using their venom to kill another dragon. They later agreed with the NightWings and allowed them to live in the forest, though (at first) they would not permit Mastermind, a NightWing scientist, to live alongside them. RainWings also keep and take great care of pet sloths. Since the pets from other tribes are usually eaten or lost by mistake, this shows RainWings can be both caring and soft, and further highlighting their peaceful nature. When sloths climb on the back of a sleeping RainWing, that means they have been "chosen" and can then keep that sloth as a loving, loyal pet forever. Even Queen Glory was "chosen" by a sloth which she at first refused to love it, but then gave up and named the sloth Silver. In Winter Turning, it was revealed that NightWing dragonets play with RainWing dragonets in the hatchery. This might prove useful to the future of those kingdoms. Also in that book, it is shown that older NightWings hate the RainWings; this contrast is probably the result of not being raised among RainWings. It is hinted that they were once militaristic in Darkstalker (Legends). After Darkstalker leaves, the RainWings begin to sort out families, for many purposes, including venom, as well as more obvious reasons such as plain curiosity. 'The RainWing Royal Challenge' The RainWings have developed a custom of challenging their queen for the throne that does not end in death, unlike the other dragon tribes. This method requires the current queen to pick a contest or multiple contests, such as hide-and-seek, venom targeting, or racing. She and the challenger compete for the throne. The winner becomes the queen. However since Glory became queen, it is possible that the RainWings won't do the challenge anymore. Rainwing Names Rainwings tend to name their dragonets after rainforest animals, such as Kinkajou or Tamarin, plants, such as Jambu, Mangrove, or Orchid, fruits such as Banana or Coconut, and adjectives, such as Exquisite, Dazzling, or Magnificent. In The Hidden Kingdom, ''Kinkajou states that they cycle through a list that they have to name dragonets, and when they finished the list they start over again, revealing that some dragons may have the same names as each other. Known RainWings * Queen Anaconda * Banana * Boto * Bright * Bromeliad * Bullfrog * Chameleon * Coconut * Ex-Queen Dazzling * Ex-Queen Exquisite * Ex-Queen Fruit Bat * Gibbon * Queen Glory * Ex-Queen Grandeur * Princess Firefly (half NightWing) (In a possible future) * Handsome * Heliconia * Prince Jambu * Kinkajou * Liana * Loris * Ex-Queen Magnificent * Mango * Mangrove * Orangutan * Orchid * Peacemaker (half NightWing) * Siamang * Ex-Queen Splendor * Tamarin * Tapir * Tualang Colors to Moods * Dark Red: Furious * Red: Angry * Orange: Irritated, Frustrated * Gold: Happy, Excited, Jubilant * Yellow: Amused, Surprised, Pleased * Green: Worried, Frightened, Displeased, Annoyed * Teal: Confident * Dark Green: Aloof * Pale Green: Fearful, Terrified, guilty * Acid Green: Shocked, Disbelieving * Mint Green: Truthful * Aqua: Calm * Blue: Curious * Cobalt blue: Respectful * Dark Blue: Thoughtful * Light Blue: Sad * Indigo: Proud * Orange-Purple: Confused * Lavender: Delighted * Pink-Rose: Joyful, Happy, In Love * Light Pink-Rose: Embarrassed * Hot Pink: Happy * White: In Pain, Sick, Shocked * Dark Gray: Sorrowful * Blue-Gray: Depressed, Despairing * Brown: Stressed * Black: Hatred * Violet: Determined * Silver: Lying Trivia * NightWings, SeaWings, SandWings, and RainWings are displayed in ''A NightWing Guide to the Dragons of Pyrrhia ''as having their wings slightly unfolded and held upright above their heads. It's unlikely that when their wings are not in use, they hold them in this tiring position. Instead, they probably fold them over their backs and/or close to their bodies when they are relaxed. Their wings also have slightly different musculature than the IceWings, MudWings, and SkyWings, implying that they aren't quite as powerful fliers as the other three tribes are. This would make a lot of sense in the case of the RainWings as they are stated in the books as having shorter wings to maneuver more easily in the cramped spaces of the jungle. * Even though RainWing venom only works on living things, it melted Queen Scarlet's gold chain mail armor on page 238 of ''The Dragonet Prophecy. This may be an error on Tui's part. * Although it was once thought that RainWings could not change their eye color, Tui confirmed that it would be practical for RainWings to change their eye color to blend in, with their scales. Evidence of this can be seen here. * Tui compares the RainWing's camouflage scales to an invisibility cloak, bending light around them to disappear. However she jokingly "runs away" when the concept of science is brought up''The Dragonet Prophecy'' Chapter 3. * Tui has confirmed that RainWings also have accents different from any other tribe since they have been isolated from most tribes. She said it was close to an Australian accent. Queen Glory, however, does not share this feature because she was raised in a cave with dragons who have normal accents. * The oldest known dragon (that hasn't been enchanted to live longer) in the series is Tapir, who lived to be about one hundred and ten years old before starving himself to death in capture of the NightWings. * A RainWing named Chameleon has a snout deformity, which prevents him from sleeping for more than an hour at a time. Because of this, he can't change the color of his scales, so his scales stay lime-green. It is unknown if any other RainWings have suffered from this. * When Prince Albatross and Queen Lagoon were alive, RainWings were taken seriously, seen when Lagoon says "If we find another animus in the tribe, that would make us twice as powerful, which would be quite useful given how the MudWings and RainWings have been behaving lately," implying that the RainWings were a threat to SeaWings around that time. As Ex-Queen Grandeur stated, "I remember a time when we had to use our camouflage for survival." ** This also implies that RainWings were once aware of the other dragon tribes and had contact with them before the reign of Queen Glory. * RainWings used to have a royal family, but when Ex-Queen Grandeur did not have any useful heirs, she mixed her eggs with the tribes', saying that she hoped to find RainWings who were "queens in spirit, if not in blood." * Chameleon was the first known RainWing that had possessed animus magic, this is because of him temporarily owning Darkstalker's Talisman. * It is shown in The Hidden Kingdom that some RainWings can perfectly imitate bird calls, such as toucans. * Tui has said that the base RainWing scale color is a lime green like Chameleon's scales. * RainWings have some knowledge of medicine, as shown in The Hidden Kingdom. * Prince Current suspected the RainWings of drugging Prince Albatross to make him go insane, instead of accepting he used his magic excessively. * RainWings are the first dragon tribe with knowledge of how to make blow darts and blowguns, which was first shown in The Hidden Kingdom. * RainWings used to sell fruit for "high prices" during the time of Darkstalker (Legends). * In Runaway, RainWings are implied to have once made potions as well. Snowflake bought a sleeping potion from a RainWing to use on Queen Diamond. * Most reptiles in the real world also take part in sunning themselves to maintain energy, much like RainWings do. * Most, if not all RainWings have green eyes. The only known exception is Tamarin, who has pale blue eyes, due to being blind. In the first arc, Kinkajou was described with dark eyes, but in the second arc, she has green eyes. * Blind RainWings can still camouflage, however, as Tamarin states she can only do so when relaxed, and cannot do it on command. * RainWing fangs stay in place instead of moving in and out of their gums, making them stick out. * RainWings possibly have a stronger sense of facial recognition than most dragons. No other tribe can change scale color and thus they can rely on scale color to help identify dragons. RainWings cannot do this, as no dragon stays one color for very long. This implies that either RainWings have more varying facial structures or they have a very good memory for faces. ** However, both Kinkajou and Queen Glory are noted to have mistaken RainWings' identities. Queen Glory once mistook Heliconia for Banana, and Kinkajou mistook Bromeliad for Orchid. This could be that Bromeliad and Heliconia have plainer faces than other RainWings. In Glory's case, it could be that she is not quite as good at recognizing RainWing faces as the rest of her tribe because she only encountered other RainWings later in life. * Tui has stated she may do a winglets or other book on the history of RainWings. * During the War of SandWing Succession, Queen Scarlet owned one (Glory) as a decorative pet. This shows how low-classed RainWings were considered to be by other tribes at the time. A similar sort of treatment happened among the NightWings, where they were considered "the rarest dragons of them all", at least by the SkyWings. Both of these viewpoints for both tribes had to do with withheld information among tribes, but the NightWings used it deliberately for the sole purpose of staying powerful. * It is possible that RainWings are related to the BeetleWings as both tribes can shoot venom from their fangs. * RainWings have the least number of POVs (one) in the series (including Legends, Winglets, prologues, and epilogues). Gallery Click here to see the gallery. References de:Regenflügler fr:Ailes de Pluie pl:Deszczoskrzydłe ru:Радужные драконы Category:Tribes of Pyrrhia Category:Tribes of Dragons